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Category: Education

May I add my disgust at the results of yesterday’s election. I am ashamed to be a resident of the state where the voters vote themselves higher taxes, boondoggle projects that waste their dollars (choo-choo train that 1% of the population will ride), essentially disarm their police (after I 940 passes with 60% support, police will be regulated to death and almost have to ask the criminal’s permission to respond with deadly force-the initiative Curbs Police Violence!!); disarm themselves with gun regulations (I 1639 adds more onerous regulation of legal firearms owned by law-abiding citizens, thus reducing every citizen’s ability to defend himself from the increasing crime, especially in cities); and make all the more certain that more ineffective social programs are coming.

The voters of WA sent an abortion-supporting Pediatrician(!) to Congress, turning Blue a district that has been Red for many years; voted down their loudest voice in the State House against the predations of un-Sound Transit (I wish Mark Harmsworth much luck and prosperity in the rest of his life, and mourn that I do not live in his district), and sent even more D’s to the state legislature. [And the Board of un-Sound Transit is about to give the Capo di Tutti Capi a big raise-on MY DIME]. I always knew my own district was a lost cause (the ass with the perpetual sneer who is NOT my “representative” in Congress received 72% of the vote) and the entire state is even a bigger lost cause now. Of the ten WA congressional districts, seven are now represented by Democrats.

As expected, the citizens of Seattle voted themselves another huge “families and education levy” that will not improve either families or education (throwing money at problems never solves them). But then, the liberals who tax themselves to death do not CARE whether they have any effect whatsoever; they just feel so good that they are helping (which they do not).

State voters did do a couple of good things. They emphatically rejected yet another “carbon fee”, which we recognize is really a Carbon Tax, and they made illegal the banning or taxing of particular food products by local jurisdictions (here’s looking at you, Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax).

Well, the citizens of the State of Washington get exactly the government they elect. I just wish I didn’t have to live with what the Democ-Rats vote for.

This is perhaps not what they wanted to hear, but it is the Truth. When there was a Republican running, that’s whom I voted for. The Republican Party in Washington State is a joke. The man with the perpetual sneer who “represents’ my district doesn’t have to campaign, since he has next to no opposition. I find this abhorrent. On my ballot there were half a dozen offices where there was only one candidate. I never vote for anyone running unopposed.

I voted, even though my vote counts for next to nothing in this deep blue state. I support President Donald Trump, and I have hope that the Republicans will retain their majority in the House and add to their Senate majority. However, I will not be staying up late tonight to watch the returns. I have work to do that is way more important.

This is me last week on Halloween. I dressed up as Washington’s worst nightmare-an avid Trump supporter.

And Seattle/King County does have enabling legislation to allow “Safe Injection Sites”, where illegal-drug addicts can “shoot up”, supervised by nurses. They just can’t seem to find the ideal site, so none has opened up yet. I have read that they are considering “mobile” drug dens, so no permanent site will be necessary. I can just see the ads now: “Hey, Burien Drug Addicts! Meet your Mobile Drug Den at Fourth and Highway 900, Monday at 3:00PM”.

And Seattle has passed the most restrictive gun-storage laws in recent memory, essentially requiring legal gun owners to lock up their firearms where they cannot be obtained by anyone easily (especially the homeowner with the burglar or rapist at the door). Yeah, buy that gun for self-defense, and we will mandate that it be unavailable to you when you need it most.

Everyone in the Seattle-Everett-Tacoma area is paying through the nose (car-tab tax, property tax, sales tax) for this useless Choo-Choo Train that 1% of the population will ride. Everyone has heard of the huge (predicted) cost-overruns associated with this boondoggle, and this is one of the most egregious. It seems that they need very long escalators to carry riders from the street down to the underground train station by the University of Washington. The radicals who run (?) un-Sound Transit ordered “commercial-grade” escalators instead of “transit-grade” escalators, probably to save costs. Yeah, big savings! Not only are transit riders inconvenienced by having to walk up and down hundreds of stairs to get to and from the train, but NO costs were saved, and more costs will now have to be incurred! On MY dime!

Seattle police have essentially stopped responding to most property crimes in the city. Is it any wonder that we try our best to stay the hell out of Seattle? The city is almost literally going to hell in a hand basket. I Despise Seattle, and I feel sorry for those who live there. However, they do get the government they elect, don’t they? Maybe I shouldn’t feel too sorry for them after all.

Like this:

I am currently reading Walter Russell Mead’s book God and Gold, subtitled Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World. In this book, he discusses the role of religion as one of the forces in the making of the Western Enlightenment societies we have today. He says this about the Jews in today’s world:

Apart from the significance of Jewish experience to Jews, the survival of the Jews into modern times serves for billions of non-Jews as a kind of historical proof that the God of Abraham is powerful and real. God told Abraham that he would have descendants who would remember his name–and lo! there they are. That this unique people, returning almost miraculously against all probability to the land God promised Abraham would support his descendants, is a kind of bone in the throat of the world–a people and a state that can neither be spat out nor swallowed, unable to find rest at “home” or in exile–only further shows billions of Abrahamic believers just how powerful the narrative (or the God) remains after all these millennia. That world history remains convulsed by the struggles of the Jews to make a home, and that their ethical and military successes and failures reverberate to the ends of the earth, further reinforces the most powerful cultural force that human beings know.

I just love his phrase about the “bone in the throat of the world”, it just works. And the paragraph above supports what I have come to think of as the role of the Jewish People in the world.

The Jews are the Conscience of Humanity. You will know when the human race is well and truly doomed. When the last Jew is gone.

May the Jewish People live, and thrive, Forever. Amen.

Like this:

I am 69 years old and still working full-time as a buyer for an aerospace company. Aside from vowing never to draw Social Security or be subject to Medicare (as a reason for keeping working), I couldn’t think of what I would do with myself if I retired. I play violin, but there’s not much opportunity to play chamber music in my town. I wouldn’t want to just sit around and read all day, which is my favorite pastime when not working.

Funny, but my retirement calling was staring me in the face, and I wasn’t seeing it. My husband and I are big supporters of Hillsdale, and we are members of the President’s Club of donors. It’s also convenient that his employer matches both our contributions and my employer matches mine (so my contribution is tripled). While sitting in one of the excellent lectures on the cruise, it hit me. If and when I retire, I intend to become a Hillsdale Associate, someone who recruits students and donors for the college and generally talks up the place. After reading Dr. Paul Rahe’s post on the Main Feed over at Ricochet.com, perhaps I’d enlist a letter-writing campaign to the Wall Street Journal to get them to add Hillsdale to their yearly college rankings.

In my everyday life now, I always talk up Hillsdale. My work coat closet has a Hillsdale flag on it for all to see. On the cruise, we provided Hillsdale literature to our cabin attendant! I can’t think of a better way to spend my retirement years than promoting Hillsdale College.

Wednesday, July 25 through Monday, July 30, we were again at sea, and you know what that means… Lectures! The weather wasn’t conducive to much deck-walking, but I did get a few ocean and cloud pictures. This was the last picture of Hawaiian waters.

July 25 speakers were Roger Kimball on “Trump vs The Elites”; John Steele Gordon on “A Brief History of American Medical Insurance”; Dr. Arnn on the history of the Administrative State; and George Neumayr on the political papacy of Pope Francis. The Pope has been the subject of lively discussions, both on the cruise and on Ricochet among the site’s many devoted Catholics, and Mr. Neumayr’s talk generated lots of questions. In fact, the ship’s Irish-Catholic chaplain had some slightly-hostile remarks which Neumayr fended off masterfully. We took home a signed copy of his book entitled The Political Pope, which is a must-read.

Thursday, July 26 saw a new roster of speakers. Nick Lloyd discussed the part of World War I from 1915-17; Patrick Caddell discussed media and polls; and Walter Russell Mead spoke on “Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World”. I brought home Mead’s book God and Gold, and it is proving to be a very interesting treatment of the history of Western Civilization with an emphasis on the invaluable contributions of the English-speaking countries.

This is what the view was from the Promenade Deck that day.

And this is what we saw from the Churrascaria restaurant that evening.

Friday, July 27, brought more captivating lectures. Michael Ramirez gave a history of the editorial cartoon, with ample examples of his own work. Victor Davis Hanson discussed the Battle of Midway, and John Steele Gordon spoke on the history and future of money (which everyone was very attentive to, for obvious reasons). After lunch, Michael Walsh spoke on the decline of music in Western culture, a subject that interests me greatly. I have never been very fond of recently-composed music, since it seems to me to be aimed at the composer rather than the listener, and if you can’t please the audience, your music might not get played or sung very much.

Here’s the view from our balcony on Friday.

On the trip home, the sea was pretty rough, and we got excellent balance practice every time we walked anywhere. I was lucky, and never completely lost my balance, even in the pitching, rolling shower! Saturday’s lectures were by Walter Russell Mead on US foreign policy, George Neumayr on the “never-ending investigation”, and Nick Lloyd on the end of World War I.

On Sunday, July 29, we approached land again, toward Ensenada, Mexico. I could tell that we were nearing land when the color of the water changed, the skies grew lighter, and the air was warmer.

I couldn’t sleep well Saturday night, so I was up at dawn to capture this beautiful sunrise.

The water was very calm, and almost seemed to melt into the sky, making the horizon almost disappear.

My followers will know that I love watching the wake of a big ship, and I have pictures of the Washington State Ferries, as well as the cruise ships I have sailed on. I just love the patterns the wake makes in the water.

This is an island off the west coast near Ensenada, called Todos Santos Island.

I had to zoom in to see it, but about 3/4 of the way down the slope to the right, there is a structure that I saw was a big cross, which is consistent with the name of the island.

We could tell there was a big school of fish out there, due to the presence of seagulls and pelicans having a fine time fishing for breakfast.

This guy came out to meet us. The name on the boat was PilotoII, indicating that he was a Harbor Pilot, assigned to guide us into the crowded harbor at Ensenada. See how his wake is twice as wide as he is.

Then, I saw something that reminded me of home in the Puget Sound. There were a few big buoys out in the harbor, and this one was occupied. By a local sea lion, a kind of seal.

In Seattle, big sea lions rest on the buoys, and use them as a spot to fish for passing salmon. I’m betting this guy was fishing too, and he has a gull to keep him company (and compete for fish).

That’s our wake in the water of Ensenada.

We also saw numerous Mexican tour boats which go out of Ensenada, all filled with enthusiastic tourists. When we landed and walked around, we saw people lined up for the next tour.

I saw this structure in the harbor, just outside the working waterfront, and wondered what it might be. Followers, can you enlighten me perhaps?

As we approached our berth at the cruise-ship terminal, we got to watch this container ship, the COSCO Indonesia, being loaded with containers. COSCO is a big Chinese state-owned shipping company. It was fun watching the orange crane picking up and placing containers precisely where they should go.

Here are some more highlights of the Ensenada harbor.

Homes on the hillside above the harbor.

I think this is one of the biggest flags I’ve ever seen. Those Mexicans are proud of their country!

Nice Marina they have there. There’s another one on the other side of the harbor.

Our berth-mate that day was the much-larger Carnival Inspiration.

The cruise terminal at Ensenada is very colorful, and has a building with lots of shops where the locals sell their wares.

The fountain is a very convenient bird-bath, and this gull was taking his daily shower. Ensenada, in Baja California, has a very dry climate with little rain, so you can understand how the gull takes advantage of what humans have provided.

Upon disembarking, we walked around the bay to a crowded, lively marina shopping area, and took in the sights and sounds of Ensenada.

My husband, who plays accordion, got a kick out of this little band.

All too soon, it was time for us to board the Crystal Symphony, for the journey back to San Francisco. Monday, July 29, was a sea day, and we had lectures by Michael Walsh and Pat Caddell. The final lecture of the cruise was supposed to be Dr. Arnn discussing Hillsdale’s Mission. But it turned out that Dr. Arnn left the cruise at Ensenada, to answer the call of Betsy DeVos, the Education Secretary, to go to Washington DC to discuss education. Since he was not there, the Hillsdale crew cooked up a big panel discussion with all the remaining speakers, and the audience asked lots of interesting questions. The Hillsdale cruisers are well-educated bunch, and we all thoroughly enjoyed all the lectures and all the speakers.

Monday, July 31, we arrived back in San Francisco. We had packed the night before, and when it was time, we all filed into the Starlite Club ballroom to await our group being called.

When we disembarked, we boarded a bus for the ride to the airport. We got checked in, and awaited our flight back to Seattle. Once in the air, I pointed my camera out the window, and got some spectacular cloud pictures. And mountains, too.

The cruise had been wonderful, but we were glad to be home. And the kitty was glad to have us back, too.

Next year’s Hillsdale cruise will be to the British Isles, to celebrate the conclusion of the project involving the complete Churchill biography and documents. We don’t know yet if we will go, but we will have this year’s cruise to remember for a long time.

Last month, Hubby and I took a 16-day cruise to Hawaii on the Crystal Symphony, with Hillsdale College. We left from San Francisco for the round trip on Sunday, July 15. We had four days at sea going each way, which were filled with lectures by a variety of conservative speakers. I’ll be chronicling our voyage with a post per day. Herewith, Day One of our Cruise Vacation.

We boarded the Crystal Symphony on Sunday afternoon, and had to wait for a couple of hours until our stateroom would be ready. So we took some time to stroll around the deck, and, like the picture-taking fool that I am, I shot dozens of pictures of San Francisco Harbor from various vantage points. It was a bright, sunny day, with a brisk wind blowing, which you can tell from the whitecaps on the water. Gulls and pelicans flew around, and there were many sailboats and other watercraft plying the waters.

Above is the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

How about those pelicans in formation!

We left port promptly at 6:00PM, to the strains of “Wonderful World” sung by Louis Armstrong. This vessel escorted us from our berth into the harbor.

Everyone recognized this famous place, Alcatraz Island.

We said good-bye to San Francisco. Then, we passed beneath this landmark.

Once we had our luggage safely stored in our stateroom, we met some friends (who we had not expected to be there) for dinner in the Waterside, the main dining room. Our friend had managed to corral some of the Hillsdale speakers, so we had a very pleasant meal in the company of Michael Walsh, Nick Lloyd, George Newmayr, and Tim Caspar from Hillsdale. What a great way to start the cruise!